Anderson transition for light in three dimensions

TL;DR

This paper investigates the Anderson transition for light in three dimensions through large-scale simulations, identifying a sharp transition point and analyzing critical behavior consistent with known universality classes.

Contribution

It provides the first ab-initio simulation evidence of a mobility edge for light in 3D disordered media and characterizes the critical behavior near the transition.

Findings

Identification of a mobility edge separating diffusion and localization

Critical exponent consistent with orthogonal universality class

Statistical distribution of transmission matches theory at the transition

Abstract

We study Anderson transition for light in three dimensions by performing large-scale ab-initio simulations of electromagnetic wave transport in disordered ensembles of conducting spheres. A mobility edge that separates diffusive transport and Anderson localization is identified, revealing a sharp transition from diffusion to localization for light. Critical behavior in the vicinity of the mobility edge is well described by a single-parameter scaling law. The critical exponent is found to be consistent with the value known for the Anderson transition of the orthogonal universality class. Statistical distribution of total transmission at the mobility edge is described without any fit parameter by the diagrammatic perturbation theory originally developed for scalar wave diffusion, but notable deviation from the theory is found when Anderson localization sets in.